Co-op deli salad dressing recipes revealed!

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Having a batch of good homemade dressing on hand can be just the ticket to convenience when it comes to whipping up a salad for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast! Our deli gets a lot of requests for our popular salad dressing recipes. We aim to promote health and wellness and these simple dressings make healthy food extra delicious. They work for salads, wraps, and dips for veggies. We hope our recipes will help increase your consumption of healthy salads!

Balsamic Vinaigrette
Prep time: 10 min

2   cloves garlic
½   teaspoon salt
½   teaspoon pepper
¼   cup balsamic vinegar
½   cup sunflower oil

Peel garlic and put the cloves in a blender.  Add seasoning and blend until the garlic is all diced up. Pour oil and vinegar into blender and blend until it’s the consistency of mayonnaise (about 30 seconds). Store in a glass jar with a lid in your refrigerator for about a week. Shake it up if it separates.

Lemon-Cumin Dressing
Prep time: 10 min

1   clove garlic
1   teaspoons cumin
½  teaspoon salt
½  teaspoon pepper
1/3  cup lemon juice
½  cup sunflower oil

Peel garlic and put the cloves in a blender.  Add seasoning and blend until the garlic is all diced up. Pour oil and vinegar into blender and blend until it’s the consistency of mayonnaise (about 30 seconds). Store in a glass jar with a lid in your refrigerator for about a week. Shake it up if it separates.

Appeal Denied

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Following a grueling three-hour city council meeting, a tentative ruling came in our favor. Astoria City Councilors voted to uphold the city design review committee’s approval of our project, and reject three Mill Pond resident’s appeal.

The crux of the controversy is over plans to access our new store off of a street called Steam Whistle Way. Unfortunately the co-op has not been able to find another configuration that would meet all government standards while providing the amenities that we need to operate a grocery store, including a dedicated receiving area and plenty of parking. We have attempted to go above and beyond to address the neighbor’s concerns, including widening a portion of Steam Whistle Way.

The city council will make a final vote on the appeal at a future meeting. We are hopeful and working diligently to bring our much-needed expansion to fruition and will keep you up-to-date as this complicated process progresses.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our general manager, Matt Stanley at matt@astoria.coop.

Read more about the meeting in the Daily Astorian article.

Appeal Meeting FAQ

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What is the plan for Astoria Co+op’s new store? 

The co-op plans to build an 11,580 square foot building at the corner of 23rd and Marine Drive in Astoria. It will hold about 7,000 square feet of retail space that offers a full line of fresh foods – think full-service deli, an expansive organic produce section, local meat and seafood, and more. We hope to begin construction by the end of 2018 and open in 2019.  

What is happening on July 30th?

Astoria City Council is having a hearing to listen to some neighbors’ concerns regarding traffic behind their homes. We definitely want our co-op to be a positive impact on that neighborhood and we are optimistic that we can adequately address reasonable concerns.

Is the Mill Pond Home Owner’s Association (HOA) as a body appealing the co-op’s design? 

No. The appeal was filed by three individual property homeowners.

Why are attorneys involved? 

One of the individuals who owns a vacant lot next to the future new co-op has hired an attorney to present their appeal. The co-op’s developer partner thus felt obligated to retain representation to be sure we clearly demonstrate that our design meets the City’s criteria to the best possible standard.

How much will this delay our process?

Hopefully not too much. We have done our due diligence, we know this store will bring a lot of good to our community, and we appreciate everyone’s continued support!

How can I help?

Please attend the hearing at Astoria City Hall July 30th at 6 p.m. We need to show the City Council that we have huge community support and that our shoppers are ready to shop their new store without further delay.

I have more questions, who can I reach out to? 

If you have further questions please reach out to the co-op’s General Manager, Matt Stanley. He can be reached at matt@astoria.coop.

Fresh New Look

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By Zetty Nemlowill/Marketing Director

In our last newsletter I told you we’d be freshening up the co-op’s look and now… it’s official (see our new logo below)! We’re making this change now so that we will be ready to start designing our new store. We’re still the same co-op you know and love; we’re just getting better at sharing our story.

To survive and thrive, especially in a larger, more visible store, we need everyone to understand what makes Astoria Co+op different and why they might want to shop here. A logo and tag line can help represent this visually.

You’ll notice the subtle name change of “Astoria Co+op” instead of “Astoria Co-op Grocery.” The shorter name looks great, is very friendly and can be paired with our tagline (good. local. food.) It is simple and easy to understand at a glance.

The plus sign aligns our brand with the Co+op, stronger together brand and highlights our cooperative ownership. This allows us to fully utilize the resources available through our membership with National Co+op Grocers—Co+op Deals flyers, coupons, bags, coffee cups, and signs—while maintaining a cohesive visual identity with materials produced in-house.

Astoria Artist Roger McKay paints the new logo on our outside wall.

I believe this change will result in an increase in efficiency, allowing us to mature into an even more competitive business, lowering operating costs while still treating our employees well.

While a new logo is an important symbol, it is our amazing staff, dedicated owners and shoppers, local farmers, delicious food, and being 100% community-owned that makes our co-op truly unique and special. Thank you for your continued support!

Disco+ver Back to School Savings

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Back to school season is here and your co-op is stocked with amazing deals for every budget on products your family needs. Save big on healthy snacks, lunch box fillers, and wonderful weeknight meal essentials. Save over $55 on products like Woodstock, Clif, Annie’s and Organic Valley. You’ll also find some late-summer recipes to try!

Look for coupon books at the store entrance. We also try and provide the coupon right at the shelf near the products. Coupons are valid through August 31, 2018.

Click on the coupon book cover to see what’s inside…

Project Appeal

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Here’s an update from General Manager Matt Stanley:

The co-op’s Design Review Committee approval has been appealed by three Mill Pond residents. We will go before the City Council on July 30th at 6 p.m. at Astoria City Hall. The approval process has proved to be more challenging than anticipated. However, the greater Astoria community continues to provide us with enduring support.

We remain confident that the perceived negative impact to these individuals is vastly outweighed by the benefits the co-op brings to both them and the community at-large.

We will provide further updates as the hearing approaches. It will be imperative that the City Councilors and the Mayor hear from you urging them to vote to uphold the sound decision made by the Design Review Committee. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with further questions or concerns.

Woodstock Wagon Giveaway

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This June, WOODSTOCK wants you to get Hooked on Organic. Visit the co-op and save $5 on any 4 WOODSTOCK organic condiments, pickles and relish AND enter to win a coveted WOODSTOCK wagon!

WOODSTOCK celebrates foods that make you feel great about what you buy, eat, and serve your family. They believe in options that are simple, pure, and good for our world. Give your barbeque the perfect finish with WOODSTOCK’s organic condiments, pickles, and relish, Because Organic is always Non-GMO and so much more, WOODSTOCK invites you to get Hooked on Organic all summer long!

Design Review Meeting

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We must receive approval at a Design Review Committee meeting on Thursday evening in order to stay on track to build you a bigger co-op! Meeting details are now available online.

Following our first go-round with the committee, we’ve provided an updated proposal to the city that we strongly feel meets criteria. Your presence at the meeting will help demonstrate to the committee that there is broad community support for the project. The Design Review Committee meets at Astoria City Hall Thursday June 7 at 5:30 p.m. Please contact General Manager Matt Stanley matt@astoria.coop if you have questions or need more information. Thanks for your continued support!

Stay up to date on co-op expansion. Sign up here for our emails.

June Change for Community Recipient

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We’re super excited to be raising funds for the Clatsop Community Action Regional Food Bank in the month of June!

The food bank’s mission is to eliminate hunger and provide food to those who need it. Staff and volunteers distribute about 1.5 million pounds of food throughout the county per year. Almost half of that is fresh food! It was the first food bank in Oregon to do a fresh mobile produce pantry.

Let’s raise funds for this awesome organization! Round up your purchase total, bring a bag and donate your bean, or share your pocket change.

Selling groceries might keep our store in business, but giving back to our community is at the heart of what we do. With your help we can be the positive change for community!